Boston Red Sox Advance to 2018 World Series

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 18: The Boston Red Sox celebrate defeating the Houston Astros 4-1 in Game Five of the American League Championship Series to advance to the 2018 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 18, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

After a five year absence, the World Series will return to bean town this year as the Boston Red Sox defeated the reigning champion Houston Astros to advance to the fall classic. The Red Sox will play in their 13th World Series and aim to win their ninth championship.

Road to the World Series

The Astros came into the American League Champion Series as favorites against the Red Sox, which may have come as a surprise to some. While the Astros did win the World Series the previous year, the Red Sox won five more games than Houston, and even defeated a very powerful New York Yankees lineup to advance to the ALCS. Despite this, ESPN gave the Astros a 32% chance to win the World Series, while they only gave the Red Sox a 13% chance.

ALCS Game Five

Boston’s power was on full display in game five as they would score all of their runs via the long ball. J.D. Martinez got the Red Sox on the board in the third inning when he hit a solo home run off of Justin Verlander. Rafael Devers would tack on three more runs for the Red Sox in the sixth inning when he hit a three-run shot that gave Boston a 4-0 lead.

The Astros were able to avoid being shut out when Marwin Gonzalez hit a one-run home run off of Matt Barnes to cut Boston’s lead to 4-1. Unfortunately for the Astros, they were not able to score again, and the reigning world champions were eliminated from the postseason.

Verlander will take the loss for the game, despite being a Cy Young candidate this year, and David Price earned the win. Price’s performance was terrific and a bit of a surprise considering his recent postseason struggles.

Last Word

Despite their accomplishments to climb to the top of the American League, the Red Sox still have a difficult journey ahead of them. They will face either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 World Series, and both teams have been on fire recently. The Dodgers are just one game away from returning to the World Series and still feature a dangerous lineup and a great starting rotation.

The Brewers are also having an outstanding year, as they feature one of the most powerful outfields in all of baseball. With Ryan Bruan, Lorenzo Cain and the (most likely) NL MVP Christian Yelich, they are a force to be reckoned with in the National League.

But Boston’s 2018 season has been one for the ages. They were the first team to win 100 games, and they set a franchise record with the most wins in a regular season with 108. This year’s Red Sox squad beat the old record of 105 wins, which was accomplished in 1912.

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[…] Bradley Jr.‘s heroics in the ALCS helped propel the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series since 2013, where they won their eighth world championship title. The Red Sox sealed an emphatic 4-1 series […]